Big Time Star Crossed
by harvestmoonrox
Summary: What happens when Carlos falls in love with someone involving Gustavo's #1 enemy? Formerly "Big Time Romeo and Juliet." Same story, new name. CarlosxOC, no slash! R&R!
1. The Dance

Big Time Romeo and Juliet

_These violent delights have violent ends_

_And in their triumph die, like fire amd powder, _

_Which, as they kiss, consume._

-Romeo and Juliet, _Act II, Scene VI_

Carlos Garcia had never experienced so many emotions in one night.

Exasperation. Anger. Joy. Happiness. Why did dances do that to people?

He had been exasperateed and angry when the Jennifers had forced him to play 3 different people and be their dates. Carlos himself hadn't been good enough for them. They chose him out of sheer desperation.

Then he had felt joy and happiness when Stephanie King had asked him to dance, saving him from the Jennifers. He'd also felt joy and happiness when his band, Big Time Rush, had performed for everyone at the Palm Woods. They'd loved big time rush, and it was great; and now Carlos was mingling on the dance floor. He spotted Logan and Camille dancing off to the side, while Jo and Kendall talked, and James was chased out by a horde of angry girls. Carlos laughed aloud and his eyes scanned the dance floor, revelling in the excitement.

That's when he spotted a girl, looking lonely, sipping punch by the bowl. She stared at Logan and Camille, and Carlos realized he'd never seen her before. Carlos walked over and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to him.

"I'm Carlos," Carlos introduced, holding a hand out for her to shake. She looked down, set the cup down, and shook, smiling.

"Danica," the girl introduced, shaking his hand lightly. Her hand was soft. He realized then that she was quite pretty; she had large, brown eyes, long black eyelashes, small, plump lips, a button nose, caramel skin, long black hair, and, er, a rather large chest and butt. She wore a royal purple silk cocktail dress with spaghetti straps. Her hair was half up, half down, with two bangs in the front. Her eyes were brightened by silver eyeshadow, matching the color of her heels. She was taller than him by about a half or a whole inch-in her heels, at least.

"How come I've never seen you before?"

Danica let go and her hands reutned to her sides. She laughed, a sort of a loud guffaw. She turned to Logan and Camille, still dancing, and cocked her head in their direction. "Camille and I are friends, and she was all upset about Logan not asking her to the dance properly. She invited me to come, and introduced me to Jo, and we talked for a while, but eventually Jo went with that Kendall guy, and now Logan and Camille are dancing, so..."

"So here you are," Carlos finished. "That's not very nice."

She shrugged, turning back to him. "C'est la vie," she said in a very impressive French accent. At seeing Carlos's expression, she smiled meekly. "'That's life,'"

He nodded. "So you don't live at the Palm Woods?"

"No. I met Camille a few years ago at an audition and we just kinda clicked. I've been to the Palm Woods before, but you're new, right? That's why you don't know me."

"Yeah, James, Logan, Kendall, and I used to be a hockey team in Minnesota. Now we're here."

"Yeah. You and your band were great, though," she complimented, looking away from him and up at the clock.

"Thanks," Carlos replied. It was silent for a moment. As the music switched to a slow song, Carlos could see couples pairing up. He wiggled the toes of his shoes, then turned to Danica, bowing slightly and sticking his hand out. "Would you like to dance?"

She looked at him and back at the clock again; Camille met her eyes and raised an eyebrow, and Danica turned back to Carlos. "I really shouldn't...but..."

"But...?"

"...I'd love to." Her hand clasped his and he led her out to the dance floor. He pulled her closer and put his right hand on her left hip.

And that's when he felt it.

Something similar to being shocked occured when he touched her; he got goosebumps, his skin heated up, and he took a step back, trying not to gasp. Danica didn't seem to feel whatever that was, and she looked completely at ease, a shred of concern on her face.

"You okay?"

Carlos nodded and resumed the previous position, the same shocked feeling returning. He fought stepping back again, and Danica closed her eyes, her head resting on Carlos's shoulder, her eyes closing.

"Tell me about yourself," he said, his arms tightening just the teeniest fraction. He was scared to touch her too much; but she didn't flinch or seem to mind at all.

"Um, well, I'm what I like to call a sisomodactress," she said.

Carlos laughed. "What's that?"

"A singer/songwriter/model/actress," she clarified.

"You sing, too!" Carlos exclaimed.

"Mmmhmm. Well, as of late, anyways. I'd always written my own songs and sang at home, but I wasn't professionally doing it until recently."

"That's awesome! So is your schedule super packed?"

"Not really. I try not to book too many jobs at once, y'know? I'm the type of person to get stressed easily."

"Logan's been like that, for as long as I can remember."

She laughed, looking at Camille and Logan once more. "I'm surprised he likes Camille, then. I mean, I love the girl to death, but she's kinda nuts. Although I can't say that I'm normal."

"What do you mean? You have a secret? A deep, dark secret?" He wiggled his eyebrows and she giggled.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret, now would it?"

"So it's a mystery?"

"It's a mystery."

The song switched to The City is Ours by Big Time Rush, and Carlos jerked away, whooping and dancing wildly. "C'mon, Danica, join me! It's fun!"

She watched from she stood, a snicker on her face. "I don't want to get hurt."

"C'mon, please?" Carlos pleaded with his puppy dog eyes. Danica kicked off her shoes, ran over and joined him, and danced just as wildly as him.

"So, Danica, what record label are you signed to?" Carlos yelled loudly, over the music, bumping into someone and sending them flying, causing Danica to erupt into laughter.

"Call me Danni," she offered, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Right, Danni," Carlos corrected, turning to her. For the first time that night, Danni didn't seem that quiet. She was waving her hands wildly, her hair flopped everywhere, and her eyes glinted with a mischievious sparkle. "So, what label?"

A flurry of bells sounded from her purse. She stopped, digging through it, Carlos stopping, too. She pulled out a cell phone and silenced it, and Camille was suddenly at her side.

"We've got fifteen minutes, so we could make it if the cab driver floors it," Camille said, meeting Danni's eyes. She muttered a vague greeting at Carlos, and Carlos's eyebrows furrowed. Jo was there next, chatting into a cell phone.

"Yes, I'm at the Palm Woods, and I need a taxi to 3276 North Vargas Avenue...Yeah, it's Jo...okay, thanks." She hung up her phone, and Logan and Kendall were approaching.

"Danni, _come on_," Camille said, grabbing her arm and pulling her away, following Jo. Carlos followed too, and Danni stopped, turning to him. "Carlos, listen, I gotta go-"

And that was she could get out of her mouth before she had been yanked out the door by Camille and Jo.

"What was that about?" Kendall said, he and Logan joining his side. Carlos shook his head, confused.

"They just started pulling her away, saying she needed to go..." Carlos thought for a moment. What was the address Jo had said? "Hey, guys, what's at 3276 North Vargas Avenue?"

Logan pulled out his cell phone, looking it up on the internet. He showed the phone to Carlos.

Hawk Records.


	2. Pretzel M&Ms Are the Food of Love

**(A/N: Hot dog! I got four awesome reviews! :D I honestly thought that people weren't gonna like this, and it was gonna tank. Thanks guys, keep 'em coming! They make me want to update. Don't forget to add me and my story to your alerts, and tell your friends! ;P And who is excited for the 7 Secrets with BTR special on tonight? 7 o'clock Eastern, 6 central. :D)**

"I just need you to go a little bit higher on that last note, Danni." Jason Hawk **(A/N: I'm not sure if Hawk is his first name or last!) **instructed, talking into the microphone as Danica Charice Simmons stood in front of hers. Danni nodded, clearing her throat.

"_So let's go and party on,_" Danni finished off, the last line of her first sinle, Party On. She did exactly as Hawk asked, and he applauded.

"Good job, Danni! That's enough for today."

Danni removed her headphones and set them down. She exited the booth, walking up to Hawk.

"Rocque's gonna be angry when this is a hit. I'll show him that I'm better than him!"

Rocque. As in Gustavo Rocque. Gustavo and Jason had had a long-standing rivalry for one reason or the other; Danni had never cared enough to listen to the story.

"So, what did you do last night?"

Danni's eyes widened a bit and she met the eyes of Hawk's assistant, Freida. Freida knew were Danni was; she had caught her sneaking back into Hawk Records late last night, barely a few minutes before Hawk had returned. Danni was supposed to have been at the studio all day, practicing, but she'd snuck out. Thank God she was able to work through it today is if she'd been all too familiar with the song, with one or two mistakes. Thank God for acting.

"After I came in," he continued, and Danni realized she must've hesitated too much.

"I watched cartoons," she said, grateful that he didn't seem to notice her exchange with Freida.

His phone rang. "You can go," he said, turning to answer it. Danni muttered "bye" to Freida and Hawk and scuttled outside.

Danni would've been in deep shit if he knew she hadn't been at the studio, but instead at the Palm Woods, at a dance with a performance by Big Time Rush, and dancing with a member from Big Time Rush. She thought of her and Carlos dancing last night, her skin heating up.

She'd felt some kind of spark with him.

He'd put his right hand on her left hip-and it was some sort of current flowed between the two. She wondered if Carlos had felt it, or if she had just been imagining it. She wasn't sure.

Her phone vibrated from the pocket of her dark-wash skinny jeans and she realized that she'd recieved a text. She saw "Camille" on the screen and clicked it open.

**Camille: Did you ever make it back in time?**

Danni smiled down at the screen. Camille was such a great friend.

**Danni: Yeah, barely! Hawk walked in like 3 mins after you and Jo sped off.**

**Camille: Close call!**

**Danni: Tell me about it!**

**Camille: So, tell me about last night! How was your dance with Carlos?**

**Danni: It was...very entertaining, that's for sure!**

**Camille: Obviously he thinks so too. He won't shut up about you.**

**Danni: ?**

**Camille: He keeps asking me about you, asking when you're coming back...I don't think he knows that you're with Hawk.**

**Danni: Really? That's good. I would enjoy seeing you and him again.**

**Camille: I'm actually supposed to be asking you over now, and I'm not supposed to know he wants you over here.**

**Danni: Really? C'est interessant. ;)**

**Camille: Oui! So are you coming over? :)**

**Danni: I'll be over tomorrow!**

* * *

Carlos Garcia sat on a chaise by the Palm Woods pool, his signature hockey helmet perched atop his head. Two days. That was how long he had seen Danni. And it was killing him. Carlos had just been telling James about her.

Carlos had learned from Camille that her full name was Danica Charice Simmons. She moved to Hollywood six years ago, was sixteen years old, her favorite color was purple, her favorite candy was pretzel M&M's, or Wonder Balls (and was thoroughly upset when they had been discontinued), had a gray pet bunny name Bunnie-"with an I-E," Camille had added-and lived with her mom. And Carlos couldn't stop thinking about her.

Carlos had found out those things in really subtle ways, not to let Camille know he liked Danni. He'd waited by Bitters's desk until she came downstairs. Then he shoved a bunch of candy in his mouth and exclaimed, "man, these are good!"

"Really?" Camille said, eating some of it. "Eh, it's alright."

"Would Danni think so?" He asked nonchalantly, through another mouthful of candy.

"Probably." She smiled. "Danni practically lives on Pretzel M&M's." Her eyes lingered on him for a moment. "Why?"

"Oh, just curious," he said, leaning on the desk.

"Okay," Camille replied, and walked away.

Carlos was a genius! He'd also found out those other facts in similar ways.

"Why didn't I get to see her?" James asked, spraying Baracuda Hair Spray on his already over-done hair. Logan coughed and waved a waft of it away.

"Because you were trying not to get your eyes gouged out by angry girls," Kendall said from where he sat. Logan and Carlos laughed.

"I missed the whole dance, too, besides our performance," he complained, combing his hair with his "lucky comb." "A face this pretty needs to be socializing at something like that!"

Carlos rolled his eyes.

"So when are we going to see the lucky lady?" Kendall asked, looking back at Carlos.

"Going to see who?" A voice asked out of nowhere. They all looked to see Katie Knight, a series of silver stars from the corner of her right eye, halfway down her cheek painted on.

"A girl named Danni," Logan explained, looking at Katie. "Why do you have silver stars on your face?"

"Danni who?" Katie demanded, looking at all of them. Kendall raised an eyebrow.

"Danica Charice Simmons," Kendall clarified. "Wh-"

Kendall _was _going to ask "why?" but stopped the moment Katie started screaming.

"Danni Charice? No way! She's my new favorite celebrity!"

"Really?" Carlos asked, intrigued.

"Yeah! Her music video for 'Party On' came out today, and that's why I have the stars on my face!"

Kendall stared at his sister, who was being unbelieveably girly. "Interesting."

"I'll say," A new voice said. Everyone turned. And there was Danni herself, wearing a green silk shirt, ruffled green mini skirt, big black sunglasses perched atop her head, and black Converse All Star hightops. Her hair was in a wavy side ponytail, and she had the silver stars on her face, too. "It's always great to meet my fans!"

"Danni Charice!" Katie exclaimed, using the name fans called her most. "Hi, I'm Katie! Can I hug you?"

Danni laughed. "No problem."

Katie dug through her pants pocket and chucked a camera at Kendall. "Take a picture. _Now_," she spat venomously. The guys had never seen Katie like that before.

Kendall took the picture of the two hugging, and handed the camera back to Katie. "I've gotta go put this on my blog! Bye!" She announced, hugging Danni one more time before running away.

"That's the first time that's happened to me." She said, smiling and looking back in Katie's direction.

"You handled that so well," Logan said, looking after Katie, too.

Danni turned back to the boys. "Hey, guys. I'm Danni," she said, and she thew a glance at Carlos. "Hi," she said.

"Hi," he replied.

Kendall looked to his left to see Jo standing next to Camille, waving him over furiously. He grinned and looked back at Danni. "Would you look at that? Someone's

calling me. See ya," he said, going to Jo. Jo did the same thing to Logan, and they all did the same to James. Then it was just Carlos and Danni.

"So, the dance the other day," she started, sitting on the chaise next to him, and crossing her legs. He sat up in his chaise. "It was fun."

"Yeah," Carlos agreed, trying not to remember the shocking feeling. It was quiet. A palm tree's leaves rustled in the breeze, and Carlos watched as the people played in the pool.

"Have you seen Camille?"

"No," Carlos lied, meeting her eyes. He looked away.

"Oh." She twirled a strand of her hair. "Want?" She held out a bag of Pretzel M&M's out of her purse. He nodded and took some.

"They're good," he said, munching on a blue one.

Danni smiled. "I practically live on these," she said, eating a red one. "They're so good."

But Carlos knew that already.

"Carlos, why do you have a hockey helmet on your head?" She laughed, reaching over and flicking it. He laughed, too.

"Why do you have silver stars on your face, Danni?" he retorted.

"Touche," she giggled. They burst into fits of laughter, and Carlos's nervousness was beginning to melt away.

Danni looked down at her watch, biting her lip. "I really should find Camille now...so..." She stood up. "Tell Katie it was awesome meeting her. Maybe I'll see her again soon. Okay?"

"Sure," came Carlos's reply. He felt sad as he watched her collect her things.

"Bye, Carlos."

"Bye, Danni."

She got up, turned, and started walking away. Carlos stood up, racing over. "Danni!"

She turned, putting her sunglasses on. And for a moment, Carlos faltered. Why were girls so intimidating in sunglasses?

A breeze blew, and a piece of her hair hit his arm. It was so soft.

"Yeah?" she prompted.

It smelled like cherries...and it was so shiny...

"Carlos?" she put a hand on his shoulder.

The electric feeling snapped him out of his reverie, and without thinking, he blurted, "Want to hang out sometime?"

She smiled a small smile at him after removing her hand. "Sure," she said, after several agony-filled seconds.

And Carlos grinned.


	3. Author's Note

**(A/N: Hey guys, I know you were expecting an update, and this is, somewhat. D: I just had my heart RIPPED OUT, STOMPED ON, AND SET ON FIRE, so some words of encouragement would be nice. I can't write right now. If I did, Danni would get hit by a bus and have to move to Chicago, and Carlos would be heartbroken, along with Katie and Danni's fans. So, yeah. :/**

**Love you guys,**

**HMR**

**P.S. Go R&R Vision of an Angel, one of my Twilight stories, if you like Twilight, too. That might help too.)**


	4. Not A Date But Ok, Yeah, It Is

**(A/N: Hey guys, I've returned! I'm not completely over it but I do feel better. Thanks for caring. :D Danni doesn't get hit by a bus! LOL. R&R~)**

"Wear the red shirt, Carlos. It can be dressy or casual."

Carlos rolled his eyes at James Diamond, who had taken it upon himself to pick out Carlos's outfit for the evening. Mrs. Knight, along with Kendall, nodded, agreeing.

"Guys, I'm just hanging out with her. It means nothing." Though Carlos said this, he surely didn't feel this way. He was going to be hanging out with Danni, tonight. He wondered if she was thinking the same thing.

Katie appeared then, with her laptop. She had a determined look on her face.

"I'm gonna prep you on Danni," she said to Carlos, sizing him up. "This date better go well."

"It's not a date!" He said again.

"Danni's favorite color is purple, she's stated that her favorite types of dates are 'ones that are unusual, different then the typical dinner and a movie.' She's a romantic, and she said she'd love it if a guy took her to a carnival, to play mini golf, laser tag, etcetera…"

"Katie, it's not a date! We're _hanging out_."

"Katie tells me that Danni loves reading, too, so if she talks about books, tell her that your favorites are 1800-1900 romances. She'll be impressed," Logan advised.

"I'm not gonna lie!" He argued.

"Give her chocolate," Katie said. "Danni loves chocolate."

"Oooh, bring a present!" Mrs. Knight said. "She'll think that's sweet."

"Compliment her shoes!"

"Tell her that her hair looks good!"

"Pay for the food!"

"Let her wear your jacket if she gets cold!"

"Give her-"

"GUYS!" Carlos yelled. All talking stopped. "I appreciate you trying to help, but I'll be fine." He grabbed the clothes he was going to wear and slammed the door to the bathroom.

* * *

Danni heard her doorbell ring.

She finished up in her bathroom mirror, giving her hair one last fluff. She'd dressed in a floral print Material Girl dress with brown boots from Urban Outfitter's. Her hair was straight, and for the night, she took the stars off of her face. Her scent was Vera Wang's Princess, and she grabbed her black purse off of her table.

"I'm going out, mom!" She called.

"Alright, call if you need me," her mother called back. She frowned but continued to answer the door anyway.

"Hey, Danni, you ready?" Carlos asked. Danni nodded.

"Should I meet your mom or something?" Carlos continued. She shook her head, smiling brightly.

"Mom's not here. C'mon, let's go." She closed the door behind her, rubbing her lips together to make sure her lip gloss was evenly spread. **(A/N: Danni has some issues with her mother that will be revealed later.)**

Danni and Carlos got into Carlos's car.

"Sweet car," she said, running her head over the seats. "I love the color. Candy apple red?"

"You got it," Carlos grinned. "Where do you want to go?"

"Um, it doesn't matter. You pick."

"Alright," Carlos agreed.

After a minute or so, Danni asked, "Where are we going?"

Carlos said, "It's a surprise."

* * *

Go karting.

Carlos had taken her to a go karting track.

And she loved it.

She hadn't been go karting in years, since before she moved to L.A., even. It was nice.

"Go karting! This is sick." The track was at a sort of mini-amusement park-it had all of the same rides and games, minus roller coasters. It was small, so they didn't have to deal with a bunch of people, and it was fun. It was perfect.

"I thought you might like this," he said. "We're gonna race other people. Think we'll come in first?"

"Oh, totally!" She pumped a fist in the air.

After Carlos and Danni had paid (well, after Carlos paid-he refused to let her pay, which she found sweet. He passed the first test) they settled into a yellow go kart, with Carlos in the driver seat, and Danni in the passenger's.

"I get to drive next," Danni said, smiling up at Carlos. "Okay?"

"No problem."

The flag to begin racing was waved and Carlos and Danni zoomed off. They were in the lead, and Danni laughed. Carlos snickered.

"Tell me about yourself."

She laughed. "What can I tell you? I told you stuff at the dance already. I'm actually a pretty boring person."

Carlos begged to differ.

"Why don't you tell me about you?"

Carlos frowned as another couple passed them, then whooped when they overtook them. He thought. "I know you know that me and the guys were a hockey team. Well, James wanted to audition to be a singer and he didn't get picked, actually. Kendall started singing about what a turd Gustavo-our boss-was, and he wanted to pick Kendall! But Kendall refused to go without us, and…here we are!"

"Kendall seriously sang about him being a turd? That's funny, and kinda ironic," she smiled.

Carlos and Danni kept talking-and Carlos won the first race. Danni drove the second time around-and ended up crashing into the wall. But she had been totally cool about it, laughing super hard, earning glares from other couples. Danni hadn't minded and neither did Carlos. He'd joined her in laughing.

Carlos would say that the "not-a-date-but-okay-yeah,-a-date" went well.

It was strange. Carlos and Danni had a lot in common. Both only children, both had only one parent involved in their lives, both loved the same cars, music, movies, and food.

They'd stopped for pizza at a place Danni had suggested, called Go Roma. The both even like their pizza the same way, for the most part-pepperoni, pan-except Danni liked extra sauce, and Carlos liked extra cheese.

Now Carlos was driving Danni home. He'd had a great time.

Danni's house pulled into view.

"So, it's time for me to go…"

Carlos felt his palms begin to sweat.

"Yeah," he said.

She looked at him. "I'll talk to you later, 'kay?"

"Sure," Carlos agreed.

Danni stared down at her feet for a moment. "Alright, bye, Carlos." She got out and started walking, when she turned and went back to the driver's side window. Carlos rolled it down.

"Carlos?"

"Yeah, Danni?"

She leaned in and kissed him. The same electric feeling buzzed through them again, and she pulled away, and winked at him. "I had a really great time."


	5. Less Than Perfect

**(A/N: Hey guys! I'd hit a major writer's block with this story but I'm back! This chapter's really short but the next one will be way longer, I promise! :D Five reviews!)**

"_Carlos_," Gustavo Rocque screamed, killing the music to the latest hit Big Time Rush was recording. Gustavo was furious with the boy because he was being his happy, energetic self—during a breakup song. "What is wrong with you?"

Kendall, Logan, and James all exchanged looks and snickered. Carlos had been on Cloud Nine since his date with Danni just yesterday.

Kelly, picking up on this, asked, "Oh, no, what did you guys do?"

Kendall burst out laughing and turned to Kelly. "_We_"—he gestured to Logan, James, and himself—"didn't do anything."

Gustavo turned to Carlos, his face red, and yelled, "WHAT. DID. YOU. DO?"

Carlos swallowed and looked down at his feet, suddenly feeling very small. He met the boys' eyes and non-verbally begged for them to keep their mouths shut.

"CARLOS!" A small voice exclaimed.

The color drained from all four boys' faces.

That voice belonged to Katie Knight.

Looking as if she'd tackle anyone who got in her way, she threw open the door to the studio, a big smile on her face.

"Katie—" Kendall started.

"Danni tweeted that she had a good time yesterday! Now I don't have to hurt you!"

Gustavo whipped around and looked at Katie. "Who is Danni?"

"Oh, no," Logan said, slapping himself on the forehead.

"Who is Danni?" The tiny girl yelled. "Danni, often called Danni Charice by her fans, is Danica Charice Simmons, upcoming singer/actress, employed at Hawk Records! I am her biggest fan, and since Carlos went out on a date with her, I warned him beforehand he _better not _hurt her!"

Kelly had let out a small gasp and Carlos watched Gustavo, who was eerily calm. He was waiting for Gustavo to blow up at any second—and by the looks of everyone besides Katie, they were, too.

Gustavo finally spoke. "This. Is…"

His voice trailed off.

"PERFECT!"

His jaw dropped, and so did the others'.

"What?" James asked tentatively.

"This is perfect! What an opportunity to ruin Hawk!" He looked absolutely delighted; grinning from ear to ear. "You can date this girl, and when the time is right, crush her into a million pieces!"

"I can't do that!" Carlos blurted, his eyes widening.

"You can and you will!" Gustavo exclaimed, his attitude doing a complete 180. "Or Big Time Rush is _over._"


	6. Author's Note, Again

**(A/N: Author's note, I know, not again.**

**I have disabled anonymous reviews from here on out because some jerk flamed me and made me feel horrible about myself. So, yeah.**

**I was already wary about this story and this person just made it ten times worse. I might not update anymore. I don't know. Flames suck.**

**I'm just so _pissed _that this person was so mean! This was my first BTR fic, cut me some slack.**

**Drop me a line if I should continue.**

**-HMR)**


	7. Freida Knows All

**(A/N: Oh my gosh, guys. my reviews went from 20 to 31, wow! Ok. I will continue the story because my darling readers want me to! However, I have changed the name of the story. Please don't be mad at me. You see, I went to the page of one of the people who didn't like this story. One was a big Shakespeare fan, and I thought, "Alright, maybe I offended them?" I didn't want to offend or anger them. If I offended, I am truly sorry, okay? It doesn't matter if you forgive me or not. I just would like to apologize. I am so happy that my readers stuck with me! I will try my best not to dissappoint you! Review please!)**

Carlos Garcia lazily stared out the window of 2J, contemplating what to do. After coming back from the studio with the boys, the weight of Gustavo's words _really _sinking into his brain. The rest of the boys had no idea what to say, or do, to make him feel better.

After a moment, Carlos asked, "What should I do, boys?"

They all looked at each other, Kendall speaking up. "I don't know, Carlos. Whatever you think is right."

Carlos sighed then, meeting all of their eyes. "That's just _it_. I have no idea! We have worked so _hard_, and to have it all snatched away…"

"But you've never really had a girlfriend, and you really like her," Logan said, frowning.

It was silent a moment, and Kendall added, "And, if it came down to it, and we went back home, I could just eventually get a hockey scholarship…maybe…"

"But what about me?" James said, plopping down onto the couch.

Carlos nodded. "Yeah, this has always been James's dream!"

Kendall and Logan plopped down onto the couch, too.

"Maybe James could go solo?" Kendall suggested, trying to be helpful.

"With Gustavo? No way, he wouldn't go for it." James replied.

"It's not like he doesn't have the talent," Logan said. "He could get discovered by someone else."

Carlos thought. "Back in Minnesota, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life…and now I know, I want to sing."

What should he do? Should he follow Gustavo's orders to preserve the band, and everyone else's dreams? Take one for the team? Carlos was always screwing things up with his hyper, crazy demeanor and making things ten times harder for them. If Carlos angered Gustavo, and they got two extra hours of harmonies, the boys would be upset, but take it all in stride. They were always giving him free passes. Carlos, the crazy screw up, did not deserve free passes.

Or, he could just ignore Gustavo's orders and continue to see Danni, but for real. That would end up in the disbandment of Big Time Rush, which they all loved and worked so hard for. Not just the boys, but Kelly, Gustavo, and others, too. If Big Tine Rush came to an end, they would all have to go back to Minnesota—but what good would that do him? Danni would still be here in L.A., anyway.

How did he feel about Danni, anyway? He knew that every time they touched, he got this crazy feeling that he had never felt before. Did he love her? Did he like her? Was he just lusting after her? What's it like to lust after someone?

Carlos bit his lip, wanting to ask one of the boys but deciding against it.

He had no idea what he was going to do.

"I'm going to need a while," he said suddenly.

"What?" James asked.

"To decide what to do. I'm going to need a while. I'm thinking…that I'll tell Gustavo I'm going through with it, to take a shot a dating her. And if I decide I don't love her…I'll do what he says."

Kendall frowned. "Well, okay," He said, after a long moment.

Although Carlos had the sinking feeling in his stomach that what he felt for Danni was just more than like or lust.

Danica Simmons nervously fiddled with the hem of her skirt as she and Freida sat outside the recording booth. Hawk was inside, making changes to a song Danni had just recorded, and Freida spoke, looking up over her fashion magazine.

"He's going to call you."

"What?" Danni asked, looking at her. Freida sighed.

"It's been two days. You're worried he won't call. He will," she said simply, redirecting her attention to the magazine.

"…how do you know?" Danni asked slowly.

Freida replied, "What don't I know?"

Danni knew that Freida just had a way of knowing things. Whether she was an awesome guesser or a spy, Danni didn't know, but she didn't question it.

After a moment, Freida said, "I can tell you right now that Jason won't need you for the rest of the day. He's got that look on his face again."

Danni looked down. "I guess."

Freida sighed. "Go do something to occupy your time." She studied Danni. "Go get a haircut. It'll be good for you."

"Haircut?"

She nodded. "Your hair's been growing but you've had the same look since forever. Go get a bob. I predict that by the time you're done, Carlos will call you."

Again, Danni didn't question it, and instead did what she was told.

Once Danni exited the hair salon, she had a cute bob, which the stylist swore up and down complimented her features and would draw attention. Checking her phone, she gasped when _One missed call _blinked on her screen. Clicking on the call log, it was from Carlos. She smiled, hitting _Dial number_, and made a note in the back of her mind to ask Freida how she knew.

After four rings, Carlos answered. "Hello?"

"Hey," she said, getting into her car. "What's up?"

"Um, nothing, just wanted to see what you were doing."

"I just got a haircut," she said, laughing. "Freida made me."

"Freida?"

"My boss's assistant," she said, quickly changing the subject. "What about you?"

"I was playing video games," he said, and Danni noticed her voice lacked…something. She couldn't put a finger on it, but something was gone.

"Oh…are you ok?"

"Huh?" He asked, after a moment.

"You seem upset," she said quietly.

"No, I'm okay!" He said quickly. "So, uh, this is kinda last minute, but do you wanna go out again? Tonight?"

Danni paused for a moment, and said, "sure!"

"Great, I'll pick you up at five."

"Okay, bye," she said, giddly. She drove home to get ready.

When Danni was leaning over her bathroom sink, putting mascara on her lashes, her mom knocked on the door. Danni told her to come in, and the door opened. Her mom was leaning in the doorway.

Marissa Simmons was a software engineer. He work building was just about ten minutes away from her and Danni's apartment, so she got home fairly quickly. Danni was dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, a pair of brown high heels, and a cream colored tank top with a bold statement necklace. Her hair was shiny and glossy from the salon, earlier. Marissa eyed her up and down.

"Where are you going?"

"On a date," she said, meeting her eyes in the mirror.

It wasn't that Danni didn't love her mother. It was just that her mother never really seemed interested in her life, interests, or anything. She knew that it wasn't her fault. After her dad walked out on them a few years prior, Marissa had to scramble to get a degree and do something with her life to support them. Meaning that when she was little, Marissa was always studying, working, or something. Danni appreciated that she had done that for her—but couldn't she seem to care, or something.

"Have fun." Marissa said, redirecting her attention to her BlackBerry and exiting the bathroom. Danni sighed.

"Okay," Danni replied, lazily.

Marissa was already gone.

Carlos came and got Danni. He was taking her to a movie, and then they were going out to eat.

He told her he loved her new hair (which reminded Danni that her own mother hadn't even noticed it) and complimented her, but she noticed that there was still_ something _missing. He didn't seem as happy as usual. Danni thought that maybe, just because he was a boy, he didn't want to talk about it, so she left it alone. They saw a romantic comedy, called "Miss Sunshine" and went to eat at a local diner, simply called "Ray's Diner." She had heard that they had insanely good hamburgers, so that was what she was going to eat. She and Carlos ordered, and Danni leaned back on her side of the booth.

"You're so quiet," she remarked, smiling at him. Carlos smiled and shrugged back at her. She couldn't notice that his smile didn't reach his eyes.

After a moment, Carlos said, "Katie told me that you've once said that you've been hurt by every boyfriend you ever had."

After their food was brought to them, Danni ate some fries. "Yup. I mean, I've only had four, but they all ended up cheating on me."

Carlos stopped chewing his own burger. "All of them?" He asked, in disbelief.

"I guess it's because I don't put out…but yeah." Danni took a bite of her burger. She had to admit, it _was _insanely good. "I hope those guys are behind me."

"'Those guys?'"

"Guys who just want to hurt me, nothing more, nothing less." She smiled at him. "But I think those boys are indeed behind me."

"Do you mean…me?" Carlos asked slowly.

Danni nodded, blushing a little. "Yeah. I like you, and I seriously doubt you'd ever hurt me."

"Good," Carlos replied, forcing a smile.

Oh, how wrong she was.


End file.
